成功的领导者需要未来的心态

Peter Fisk We live in an incredible time. More change in the next 10 years than in the last 250 years. New technologies are transforming the ways in which we live and work. Technologies enableincredible change. It is how we unlock their potential that matters. The most innovativebusinesses see the world differently. They don’t just seek to imitate the success of others, to compete in the markets of today, toframe themselves by their relative differences tocompetitors. Instead they play their owngame. I call them “gamechangers”, and have spent the last 24 months running competitions aroundthe world, to find and rank the world’s most innovative companies by sector and geography. So what’s the “game”? Well, in simple terms, it’s the market. These companies go beyond innovating their products and services, their customerexperienes and business models. They seek to innovatehow theirmarkets work. Think of it like a sports game. How could you changethegame? It could be anything fromthe pitch dimensions to rules of play, the team composition to the measures of success, therole of the referee to theparticipationof fans. Even the name of the game. Now look at today’s most disruptive innovators–23andMe to Airbnb, Brewdog toBuzzfeed,Casper to Coursera–they reframe, reimagine and redefine the market on their terms–whois it for,whypeople buy, what theypay andget, and how they work. I’ve met and profiled over 250 “gamechanger” companieson mytravels, in almost everysector, and in every part of the world.Corporate giants and start-ups, fromAbu Dhabi toBerlin, Colombo to Qingdao. There is no one way to change the game, but there are definitely some common traits: 1.Audacious–Gamechangers arevisionary andinnovative, but also daring andoriginal; they seek to shape the future to their advantage.2.Purposeful–They seekto make life better, in some relevantandinspiring way; theyhave a higher motive than just making money.3.Networked–Gamechangers harnessthe power of networks,digital and physical,both businessand customer networks, to exponentiallyreach furtherfaster.4.Intelligent–They usebig data analytics and algorithms, machine learning and AI, tobe smart and efficient, personal and predictive.5.Collaborative–Gamechangers workwith others, from ecosystems to platforms,social networks and co-creation, to achieve more together.6.Enabling–They focusnotonwhat they do, but what they enable people to do; andthereby redefinetheir marketspace, find new opportunitiesandredefine value.7.Commercial–Gamechangers takea longer-term perspective, adopting new businessmodels, and recalibrating the measures ofprogressand success. Do you have a future mindset? Today’s business leaders need a future mindset. That sounds obvious, but isn’t. Most leaders have a“fixed mindset”. They keep stretching the old models of success. Theystay loyal to the model that made them great, seeking to squeeze and tweak it for as long aspossible. They seek perfection–to optimise what theycurrentlydo–which leads toefficiencyand incremental gains. Instead a “future mindset” is prepared to let go of the past. To explore the future, toexperiment with new ways of working and winning. Failure is a way to learn, and innovationbecomes the norm. Change is relentless inside, as it is outside. Innovation is their lifeblood.Like Jeff Bezos loves to say “it is always day one”. With a future mindset, thebusiness leaderneeds new attributes: •Sensemaker–to interpret a fast and confusing world, to seenew patternsandopportunities, what is relevant and not,to shape your own vision.•Radical optimist–to inspire people with a stretchingambition,positive anddistinctive,to be audacious,to see the possibilities when others only see risk. •Future hacker–they start from the “future back”, withclarity of purpose and intent,encouraging ideas and experiments,leveraging resource and scale. •Ideas connector–da Vinci said innovation is about making unusual connections;connecting new people, new partners, new capabilitiesand new ideas. •Emotionally agile–whilstorganisationalagilityis essential, emotional agility matterseven more; to cope with change, to be intuitivein making sense, and making choices.•Entrepreneur at large–keeping the founders mentality alive, hands-on working withproject teams to infuse the mindset, tobe the catalystand coach.•Havinggrit–“gamechanger” leaders need to go against the grain, to persist but knowwhen to move on, to have self belief and confidence, guts andresilience. The future is abetter place tostart. Start from the “future back”. Trying to evolve in today’s complex and confused world is unlikely to lead you towards abright and distinctive future. It will extend your life a little longer, but it will be tough anduninspiring, with diminishing returns. Instead jump to the future.I tend to start with five years ahead, although it may differ bycompany. 5 years is long enough to change the world, but close enough to be real. Start bycreating a positive,